President Bola Tinubu on Thursday reaffirmed his administration’s refusal to pay ransom to kidnappers and terrorists, saying the Federal Government would instead strengthen the country’s security architecture to confront criminal groups and improve response to attacks.
Tinubu made the remarks while receiving the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, alongside the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao, and other traditional rulers from Oyo State at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting marked the second official visit by the Olubadan to the Presidential Villa since ascending the throne and came months after the successful rescue of schoolchildren abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Commending the armed forces for the operation that secured the release of the kidnapped pupils, Tinubu attributed the success to the efforts of security personnel and the support of traditional institutions.
“Congratulations on the Oyo State’s rescue that succeeded. I think we succeeded with your support and prayers. I agree with you that we should commend the men and women of the armed forces for their excellent performance.
On behalf of them, I accept your message, and I will forward the same thing, the same message on,” the president said.
Tinubu said every security challenge offers an opportunity for the government to reassess and improve its security strategy.
“As we emphasise the question of security, each event teaches us new methods, opens our eyes, challenges us to examine and re-examine our architecture, our strategy, our map and operations,” he said.
Reiterating his administration’s stance against negotiating with criminals through ransom payments, the president said Nigeria’s response would be driven by intelligence, operational capacity and stronger military deployment.
“And you will have seen, we will give them a geographical and numerical answer to the challenges. We refuse to pay ransom; we have the geography of the forest, we know what it is, and an answer to it,” Tinubu stated.
The president disclosed that the Nigerian Army is being expanded from eight divisions to 12 divisions to improve response time and strengthen operations against terrorists and bandits across the country.
“You’ve seen that from eight divisions now, we are now moving to 12 divisions, to shorten the response time, to give that response time the teeth that is needed for us to defeat terrorism. It is very necessary and we are doing so,” he said.
Tinubu also announced that the Federal Government would establish state police, describing the move as a long-awaited reform aimed at addressing security challenges at the grassroots.
According to him, safeguards would be put in place to prevent abuse of the system.
“We have equally embarked upon what was missing. Several decades of fears and uncertainty about what to do about security at the local level will be corrected.
There will be state police. And as state police, we have a guardrail from abuses; we will protect it from abuses,” the president said.
He further called on traditional rulers to deepen their collaboration with security agencies, noting that local institutions have an important role to play in tackling insecurity.
Tinubu added that the government is strengthening the capacity of forest guards to flush out terrorists, kidnappers and other criminal elements hiding in forests across the country.
“And you traditional rulers too, we have a role to play more. We are equally enhancing the capacity and capability of the forest guards.
“They are not just to chase antelopes and animals; we are going to have them chase the criminals and deal with them in various forests. It is very important to let you know that,” he said.
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